Sinn Féin are on course for their greatest ever General Election performance – both in terms of percentage vote and overall seats won – but are almost identical in terms of support with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael according to an exit poll carried out by RTE, The Irish Times, TG4 and UCD this evening.
Polling closed at 10pm around the country with the exit poll a study of 5,000 voters across all 39 constituencies.
It puts Fine Gael slightly ahead on 22.4%, with Sinn Féin on 22.3% and Fianna Fáil on 22.2%. The Greens are on 7.9% with Independents at 11.2%.
If the poll does hold true, it will mean an almost 10-point increase from the 2016 General Election when they took in 13.8% of the first preference vote and won a record 23 seats.
It will also mean a record performance for the Greens, beating their previous best of 4.7% when they won six seats in 2007. Labour at 4.6% are set to fall again.
Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil will see a drop in their first preference vote from 25.5% and 24.3% four years ago.
What it means in Laois-Offaly and Kildare South remains to be seen.
Fianna Fáil have traditionally outperformed in Laois-Offaly compared to their national vote, even in 2011 FF wipeout when they took 26.7% of the vote compared to 17.3% nationally.
FF have four candidates in Laois-Offaly and have targeted three seats while Fine Gael have run just two candidates, outgoing deputies Charlie Flanagan and Marcella Corcoran-Kennedy.
Sinn Féin, however, look unlikely to maximise their vote as they have just 42 candidates across the 39 constituencies. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael both have 80+.
It is expected that Sinn Féin candidates will top the polls in many constituencies, with a surplus in many instances.
The poll was taken today at 250 locations across the State, among 5,376 respondents who had just voted.
- Fine Gael – 22.4%
- Sinn Féin – 22.3%
- Fianna Fáil – 22.2%
- Independents – 11.2%
- Green Party – 7.9%
- Labour Party – 4.6%
- Social Democrats – 3.4%
- PBP/Solidarity – 2.8%
- Aontú – 1.8%
- Smaller parties – 1.5%
SEE ALSO – Check out all the 2020 LaoisToday General Election coverage here
